But the Manchester United centre half did just that, when he used his over-worked Twitter account this week to announce his contempt for snoods.

That controversial neck-warmer which decidely nesh players across the country have been sporting since the temperatures dropped is, surprisingly, too affected for Rio.

Even better, the Old Trafford captain insisted nobody at United would be seen dead in one – and his certainty hinted at a decree from on high – possibly Alex Ferguson himself.

So far, I’m delighted to say, none of the current Everton squad have opted to keep their neck warm in such a preposterous (non) fashion.

It would be a dark day at Goodison Park if one of David Moyes’ squad ‘went there’.

It screams ‘look at me, I’m thinking more about the snuggly-wuggly warmth of my precious neck than the ensuing 90 minutes of sweat, mud, blood and glory’.

Sure, Samir Nasri may have the excuse of being French, but it wouldn’t cut the mustard from Louis Saha I’m afraid. Snoods, like bandanas and Carlos Tevez-esque teddies are simply not Everton.

Hair-styles are another matter. Bob Latchford’s perm was rightly pillioried, as was Peter Reid’s trilby and Abel Xavier’s questionable Neptune-style bleach blond locks will linger in the memory for a while still.

The South African can be forgiven for those message t-shirts, normally in tribute to his Christian faith, but the pig-tails were a plait too far.

Fear of any Everton related snood-action may well be academic anyway.

Having witnessed the withering look from David Moyes (an unlikely Gok Wan) when a fellow journalist turned up at Finch Farm wearing an ‘exotic’ multi coloured scarf last winter, I can reassure you that he would have little time for the dreaded neck-wear du jour.

Endless rumours about Everton FC’s Steven Pienaar tiresome for the player and the club’s fans

WHAT is almost as bad as the prospect of losing Steven Pienaar to Spurs?

Yes, it’s the endless rumours about the prospect of losing Steven Pienaar to Spurs.

The South African was asked about his future for the umpeenth time by Sky Sports this week, and delivered his usual fudged answer saying precisely nothing, but the non-comment still ended up generating stories about whether he was actually hinting at a move to White Hart Lane in January.

The game is becoming tiresome for him, and the fans. Next Diniyar Bilyaletdinov spoke about his fears of his midfield colleague leaving.

He said: "He's a great player and if he goes out in January it'll be a very bad thing for Everton."

But Bily, who has been kept out of the Everton side because of Pienaar, did admit any move for this team-mate may provide an opening for the winger.

Good on him for having the honesty to admit as much during his interview, when he said with a smile: "But we've still got other people to replace him."

Whether Bily is an adequate replacement on Everton’s left flank for the tireless Pienaar remains to be seen, but the former Ajax star may have time to rest his legs if he plumps for a move to Harry Redknapp’s European adventurers.

Spurs have so many midfielders Redknapp has probably forgotten the name of half of them, and when players of the calibre of Niko Kranjcar can’t get a game it represents a challenge.

The best outcome for Evertonians, and possibly Pienaar, would be a move abroad where they are more likely to be spared the unpleasant prospect of seeing him return to Goodison in different colours.

Leighton Baines deserves credit for refusing to let his England disappointment affect him

LEIGHTON BAINES’ performance at Chelsea last weekend may have come as a surprise to many across the country – but regular denizens of Goodison Park barely raised an eyebrow.

It’s because the left-back’s scintillating runs and potent link-up play with Steven Pienaar have been an excellent feature of Everton’s play for some time now.

It was irritating though to hear journalists on radio station Talk Sport, praising the Toffees defender while also repeating the claim that he does not relish away trips with England.

That falsehood, a result of misinterpreted quotes which were spun by the London media, arguably cost Baines a part in Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad and can be the only logical reason the Italian has yet to welcome him back into the international fold.

It is to Baines’ credit that he has not complained about the blind-spot that continues to dog his ambitions.

Instead he has got his head down in typical fashion, and concentrated on becoming the best full-back on form in the league this season.

Let’s hope that Capello’s attention can be won back, and that people realise that the former Wigan star can maintain his top form against the club which gave him his big break today.